The Ballymun network for assisting children and young people: a local model for inter-agency working.

Summary: The Ballymun Network for Assisting Children and Young People (‘the Network’) began as an initiative of the Ballymun Local Drugs Task Force (BLDTF) in 2005 and was formally handed over to youngballymun in September 2008. It comprises 17 agencies including Young Persons’ Probationand its aim is to promote the welfare and protection of children and young people at risk in the 10–18 age range through better inter-agency cooperation. Its ethosis to place paramount importance on the best interestsof the child and young person, and membership of the Network is open to any organisation in Ballymun that shares this aim and ethos, and is committed to implementing the articles of its protocol. This paper gives an overview of the policy framework in which the Network was developed, the case for inter-agency work with those at risk of youth offending, and an overview of the model – the practical development, implementation and factors that have supported it.